(continued thoughts from previous pages' post)

Oh, finally about that Russian Tea Giant over there.. :rofl

I have never used one, but from what I know of them they work well but are a rather large investment for the biggest ones and take up a LOT of room, they are also more of a multi-person tea set up.

Another point about water:

If your tap water is not up to par Rene, consider getting a cheapish Charcoal activated filter jug and running your water through there before you brew. The important thing to remember is the freshness of the water and also that it isn't too 'squeaky clean', hence why distilled water is a no go. It won't extract anything. Mineral water is sort of on the opposite side, it is not fresh and it might have too MUCH mineral content and your tea will be heavy or worse, if you had a Russian Tea Giant like that you might have to de scale it every couple of months from the boiling of the mineral water.

Great thread. I'm not much of a coffee drinker, but I loves me bloody tea.

Here was me last order from Upton Teas:

River Shannon Breakfast Blend

Extra Bergamot English Earl Grey

Earl Grey

Bond Street English Breakfast Blend

Tasty.

Steve

Personally as long as the kettle boils the water, anything else is bonus.

This might sound obvious/redudant............but I really enjoy Peppermint tea :drool

Yes, I have tried the loose-tea variants and with Japanese pots, but I am not fluent with all the terminology and such. My girlfriend did bring a pot back from when she was in Japan years ago.

I can certainly see the reason for having it. Makes brewing the more delicate teas a tad easier!

Peppermint Tea is yummy...

Post a picture of the pot!

Good Evening,
I have a small 3 cup French press that is sitting in my cabinet unused. It's a little small for coffee. Would this be satisfactory for brewing green teas? It basically will only make one med cup, so keeping it warm wouldn't be an issue, and I think it would give the leaves plenty of room to bloom. With all of the java paraphernalia in the house, I don't need to be bringing in more stuff, but I would like to try the loose green teas. Thanks.

I have heard of people using French Press to brew Tea. It is actually pretty useful since you can push the leaves away and then pour, getting yourself a pretty clear cup.

I would say you should give it a shot! Should work well.

I use the French Press at home for this. I use the AeroPress for coffee.

Yeah it's a pretty easy and effective way to do it so I hear if you are trying to multi-task.

Just poppin in real quick!

I recently saw a Good Eats episode talking about tea, so I thought I'd share:

Part 1
Part 2

Alton Brown is great at giving basics! You will probably find that if you watch this episode, a lot of what he says sounds like what I wrote in my original piece. The answer to this is simple. HE STOLE MY IDEAS! :rofl

Nah.. I just got a bunch of ideas from him and expanded on some of them.
Can't go wrong with Good Eats!

my favorite cooking show......its fun and educational

Im with you on that , I have a friend who goes to Greece every year to visit his Father he brings me back bags filled with fresh mint tea ,best ever !
and its healthy too for the stomach I believe.

After watching 1 episode of the Good Eats....i want to drink tea

Personally I have been doing this for over thirty-five years. I have done this every way possilbe I have up to two hundred different blends of granular tea in my desk drawer, some that will make your hair stand on end. In my personal opinion there is almost nothing better than a cup of hot joe to get me going in the morning. If I need a real jolt I will use Gunpowder Green to get me going. That stuff did not come by its name causally. I love a cup of hot joe in the morning. Never really liked coffee much always fell back on a cup of hot tea to get me going.

After approximatly thirty years and over one hundred blends of tea I have this down to a fine science.

Great thread and very timely! I've been flirting with the idea of taking my tea to the next level.

Can someone recommend a good basic teapot with a large basket (the HD of teapots, if you will)? I'm thinking of something that will make 3-4 cups that I can keep at my desk (which is in my home) and drink while I work. I've seen a number of glass teapots. Do these actually keep the tea hot? I wouldn't think they do. I've been looking at a Chatsworth pot on specialteas.com. Has anyone ever tried one? Thanks for the information. This is great!

Jordan

Glass is not one of the better holders of heat in the world of thermodynamics but it will get the job done in a pinch. Movingly slightly up the ladder an earthenware teapot (Brown Betty or the like) would probably give you better heat retention. You can always buy a tea cozy to go with it though which will certainly make a difference.

In the end, pick a tea pot you like and go for it. You really can't go wrong with any of the choices.. they will all work in the end, just some have different properties.

Enjoy your tea!

Just an update, I went ahead and picked up a Brown Betty (very cute) and a bunch of teas from Indigo Teas. I'm still trying to figure out whether to get a strainer or just stick with cheese cloth. The shape of the pot makes it difficult to find a strainer large enough to do the job.

My wife if annoyed that I'm taking up even more room in the house - I've already annexed the shelf in our bathroom for shaving stuff

This if fun!

Jordan